University of Bologna continues archaeology excavations in Iran
Thanks to the renewal of the cooperation agreement between the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Bologna and the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, the fourth excavation campaign in Tol-e Ajori’s site, near Persepolis, has been carried out.
The new agreement between the two institutions has been signed in Teheran by Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti, director of the Iranian Institute, and prof. Pierfrancesco Callieri, representing the Cultural Heritage Department. The agreement renewal allows the University of Bologna to continue archaeological excavations at least for the next five years.
The University of Bologna confirms itself as one of the most-favored partners of Iran in the cultural cooperation field and increase the weight of the Italian presence in the Middle Eastern country. The collaboration consists in the joint participation to archaeological fieldwork in Iran, where a joint Iranian-Italian archaeological mission is underway since 2008, directed by professors Alireza Askari Chaverdi (University of Shiraz) and Pierfrancesco Callieri (University of Bologna). The object of the joint study is the Persepolis archaeology area, which is the main center for the Achaemenid Empire (6th-4th century BC), acknowledged as UNESCO World Heritage site.
The agreement objective has allowed to implement the forth excavation campaign in the Tol-e Ajori site, where a building has been identified and partly brought to light. The monument is very likely dated back to a previous era than the Persepolis Terrace foundation and it is characterized by a glazed brick relief panel, clearly inspired by the Ishtar Gate of Babylon.
The Italian director of the joint mission prof. Callieri will be in charge of the doctoral and post-doctoral training in Iran for young Iranian researchers and will introduce to the Iranian Research Institute the training opportunities offered by the University of Bologna and other Italian Universities.